*Tracking food benefits all not just those that are dieting.
*Why???
*You can learn a lot from tracking, your habits, patterns, energy levels, digestive issues, skin issues, or what you are eating a lot of or not a lot of, by simply tracking your food.
*Creates Awareness
Means we can pay attention to what we eat, where we eat it, when we eat it and why we eat it.
By noting it down whether on paper or on an APP tracking food can help bring a whole new level of awareness of mindfulness to your diet.
*Creates accountability
Of the food that you place in your mouth allowing you to question your choices, thinking twice about what you put in you mouth to achieve your goals.
*Shows you what you are doing well
Tracking your food and activity shows you what you are doing well i.e. eating your 5 a day... creating healthy habits.
*Shows you what you are not doing well
Identifying the areas you need to work on reinforcing i.e. "areas of opportunity".
These are not bad they are often mistakes or errors that propel us to success once we have identified the step that needs improving.
*Shows how much you eat
Tracking food shows how much or how little you eat, and allows you to focus on whole foods paying attention to balance (Carbs, Fibre, Protein and fat)
*Shows how often you eat
When we track in real time it helps us identify when we and why we reach for food i.e. are we hungry, bored, tired, comforting or just for the sake of it. It also identifies what you eat in your meals identifying are you getting a balanced meal.
*Helps with weight loss
Tracking the food we eat shows us what we are eating, identifying balances of protein, carbohydrates, fibre, sugars, fats and salt.
It also shows the holes in our "perfect" plan, when we think we are doing all the right things.
*Helps detect food intolerances
Not everyone can eat spicy foods, rich foods, diary nuts, seafood... as they have intolerances and by tracking we can identify by shortlisting the foods we eat when we have health questions... bloating, gas, tummy churning, rashes, blotching...
*Helps identify patterns
Being tired in the afternoon, craving in the evening or hungry in the mid morning, can be linked to the food we eat or not.
Perhaps not eating enough breakfast, eating a carb heavy so crave something sweet in the afternoon.
*Help identify triggers
Reaching for snacks when bored at work or a sweet treat when stressed. When tracking it makes you mindful of your choices and why you are making them does our environment create triggers.
*Allows you to reflect on progress
Tracking your food habits is hard so when we make progress its important we celebrate even the smallest changes, as this keeps our motivation going to reach our milestones.
*Bottom line
A little tracking goes a long way leading to reaching your goals and a better health and wellbeing.
Resource: www.kaynutritian.com/reason-you-should-track-your-food/
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